Dan Doherty's roast chicken

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It goes without saying that a Sunday roast is my all-time favourite meal. Whether it’s after football as a kid, or after a long week at work, nothing can soothe your pains like a good roast. It’s something every family should do on a Sunday – invite friends, colleagues, whoever, just roast some meat and eat it together, with enough roasties to induce a food coma. Use whatever veggies are in season: parsnips and spring greens, mashed swede, sprouting broccoli, buttered carrots – the list goes on…

SERVES

4

PREPARATION TIME

One hour

COOKING TIME

2 hours

INGREDIENTS

For the sage and onion stuffing

100g butter

1 onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove, finely diced

sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper

2 sprigs of fresh sage

1 handful of mixed wild

mushrooms, roughly chopped

120g sourdough bread, crusts

removed, cut into 1cm dice

1 handful of ready-cooked

chestnuts, crushed

2 eggs

3 Cumberland sausages, skin removed

For the chicken

1 large whole chicken, plump,

organic or free-range

1 onion, peeled and halved

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1 sprig of fresh sage, finely chopped

olive oil

1 litre chicken stock

For the roast potatoes

3 tablespoons duck fat

8 Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and halved

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1 sprig of fresh thyme

3 garlic cloves, unpeeled

For the chicken skin gravy

100g chicken skins

olive oil

2 shallots, sliced

1 sprig of fresh thyme

METHOD

First, make the stuffing. Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sage and the mushrooms, and continue to cook until soft and translucent. Add the bread and allow to soak up any butter, then transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the chestnuts and give it all a good mix. Allow to cool, then add the eggs and sausage meat and mix well. Set aside in the fridge.

Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Make sure all the guts are removed from the chicken and fill the cavity with the stuffing. If there’s any stuffing left over, you can either freeze it for next time, or roll it into balls and bake it separately.

Put the onion, garlic and herbs into a roasting tray. Place the chicken on top, and drizzle with olive oil. Season well and place in the oven. After about 40 minutes the chicken will be nice and brown – at this point add half the stock, then lower the oven temperature to 160°C/gas mark 3 and roast for a further 30 minutes or until cooked.

In the meantime, make your roasties. Place the duck fat in a roasting tray and put it into the oven. Put the potatoes into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Season really well, don’t be shy with the salt. Bring the potatoes to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently until they are halfway cooked. Strain, and leave them to sit on the side on a tray or plate. Don’t shake them, just let the steam escape.

Take the tray of duck fat out of the oven and carefully add the potatoes, taking care not to splash, as you’ll burn yourself. Using a spoon, baste each potato with the fat, then put them into the oven. Keep basting every 20 minutes or so, and after the first 30 minutes add the rosemary, thyme and garlic. They should be ready in 1½ hours.

To make the gravy, put the chicken skins into a saucepan with a splash of olive oil over a medium heat and cook gently, stirring frequently, until they begin to colour. Don’t worry if they catch a little, just keep scraping the pan, that’s where all the flavour is. As the fat is released, pour it away. Once nicely coloured and the fat has been released, add the shallots and thyme, and cook for a further 10 minutes or so.

When the chicken is ready, take it out of the oven and allow to rest for about 30 minutes. Strain the stock from the tray and add to the pan of chicken skin. Add the rest of the stock and turn the heat up high. Reduce rapidly for about 20 minutes, or until you have a gravy consistency. Strain and serve alongside your chicken, carving at the table.